IN an effort to further cement the country's economic ties with the South-East Asian nations, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has drawn up a road-map not only to open an office in Korea but also organise the second successive `Made in India' show in China in December.

Besides, as part of the road map, CII will also be looking at facilitating pairing of cities in India and China apart from encouraging domestic companies to invest in that country.

In addition, attempts will also be made to get more Japanese chief executive officers (CEOs) to visit India, apart from looking at opportunities for cooperation in three areas, including IT and embedded system technology.

"We are seeing an emergence of a new era of opportunity in the region and are taking a number of proactive steps, including adding resources within the organisation, setting up specialised country committees apart from strengthening our presence in the region by opening more offices," CII's Director-General (Designate), Mr N. Srinivasan, told Business Line.

As part of the initiative and to further sectoral cooperation between India and Japan, CII has recently opened a representative office in Tokyo.

The trade body has been taking a series of initiatives in the recent past to cement ties in the region. As part of the initiative, a CEOs' delegation headed by the then President, Mr Ashok Soota, had visited Japan in March 2003 to commemorate the centenary of India-Japan Association.

Besides, CII also plans to set up advisory councils to help and advise Indian companies to do business more capably with its northern neighbour.

When asked whether the focus on the Far East was an attempt being made by CII to carry forward the `Look East' policy, which had been initiated by the Indian Government some time back, Mr Srinivasan said, "We hope to help translate the political philosophy into action through industry participation."